


While the Sky Burns

by ZeroPlusOne



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: 2seung are bros for life, Alternate Universe - Mutants, M/M, Road Trips, kangnam if you squint, mino just wants to live, seunghoon is a suave cat, seungyoon is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11395194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroPlusOne/pseuds/ZeroPlusOne
Summary: Mino had kept his secret well-guarded his entire life, making as little attachments as humanly possible. But when the mandate is passed and Mino is left with no choice but to leave the city, he meets two strangers who become unlikely travelling companions.... Or more concisely, mutants' roadtrip AU.





	While the Sky Burns

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for winner fic exchange last year, a gift fic to Aya! This was the first time I wrote minhoon and until now, I keep coming back to this world hoping I had the time to expand it. :( Maybe one day, someday.

_say hello then say farewell  
to the places you know  
we are all mortals aren’t we  
any moment this could go_

  
  
  
He’s not a fugitive, not exactly. Being a fugitive entails breaking the law and as far Mino is concerned, he’s never broken any. Or at least not anything that warrants being hunted down like a criminal on a rampage. Mino would never even hurt a fly.  
  
As a matter of fact, he’d been living a decent if not underwhelming life as a nursing assistant at a little-known clinic in Seoul, and up until two weeks ago, his biggest problem had been a noisy upstairs neighbour who kept him up at night with loud EDM music and a lot of stomping around.   
  
(Considering breaking into her apartment to destroy whatever goddamn satanic speakers she owns that could make  _that much_  noise is probably the closest Mino ever got to committing a crime, but even then he’d have done a service for the entire building, so.)  
  
But he couldn't say he hadn't been expecting this. No amount of technological innovation can change traditional beliefs and a warped sense of entitlement. Mino had opted to live a silent, boring life  _because_  he knew the dangers of being himself in a world that is irrationally threatened by  _different._ Even his mother’s cautious warnings only served as affirmation to what he knew to be true – that human beings are capable of the worst, and will not hesitate to do the vilest of things to retain control.   
  
And yet despite the odds stacked against him, Mino intended to live a peaceful life, even if it meant ignoring his gifts in order to carve a place for him in this world. In  _their_  world. He'd promised his Mother as much.  
  
That’s until the government declared war on his kind and Mino is left with no choice but to face the part of himself he’d kept buried, abandon all of his plans for a slim chance at survival.   
  
Mino is not a fugitive,  _not exactly,_  but he’s on the run.  
  
He decides to pack his bags and head north, eight days since the Mandate - a government proclamation that declared Mino and hundreds, perhaps thousands like him, as a threat to national security. The enforcers started with the underground gangs and criminals - easily justified and and lauded by the general public, with media coverage that will put the presidential elections to shame. Then they came for the extremists, the separatists, the leaders who voiced the need for political representation, the scientists and academians, the peaceful sects, the student unions. Bounties were dangled and no sooner do hunters, whistle blowers, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members collect sums of money in exchange for names. And one by one, they were rounded up and detained, slaughtered based on their threat levels, often tortured, reduced to scientific experiments. Mino had never seen anything more horrific, and ironically, _inhumane._ That was until they came for the children. And by then, Mino had had enough. He knew it was only a matter of time.

There’s a farmhouse in the fringes of Chuncheon, at a forgotten village near the Taebaek mountains that could be the perfect burrow. Perhaps he’d be safer there, if only for a while, and maybe distance will draw out the inevitable.  
  
He doesn’t know how long he could run – if he could even run at this point, but anything is better than waiting for them to capture him.  
  
Mino’s shoes squeak against the pavement, blending into the sounds of a fading day that conceal the horrors being committed right at this very moment. They’re at the edge of summer, the cold night breeze a sign of the autumn to come. A night like most others on the surface, except it’s not. Not for Mino. The war may not be much of a war to most of the population who have little regard for them to begin with – god forbid they have to be assed to care – but the war exists, and Mino would like to survive for as long as he possibly can.  
  
“You’re fucked, aren’t you?”  
  
Mino grips the straps of his bag tighter, halting his steps as an instinctive curl of dread settles at the pit of his stomach. He turns sharply towards the sound of the voice, only to be met by a pitch black alleyway unlike the lit ones that surround the neighbourhood. He peers up at the brick walls that loom above him for signs of movement, but the windows are dark and bare. Then his eyes sweep the streets and a wintry chill runs down his spine when he realizes he’s eerily alone, as if the city stopped in time.   
  
There’s only one thing this could be – they’ve caught up with him and this is how it ends – it was foolish to believe for a second that he could evade the Mandate.   
  
It only took a few steps from his apartment building; he hadn’t even gotten far enough to reach his car parked just one more block from where he stands. Mino is, like the voice says, in every sense of the word,  _fucked._  
  
He turns to the alley again and gasps softly when two burning orbs pierce through his vision, luminous like a pair of cat eyes slinking low and edging closer. It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and reason tells Mino to run away and run fast, but his feet are planted firmly in place as though an invisible force is keeping him there.   
  
An ache scratches at the base of his throat and it takes a few seconds until it dawns on him that it’s his own doing. He’s straining to fight against that same invisible force that renders him unable to scream.  
  
“We’re not going to hurt you,” the voice says again and Mino could hear his heart pound against his ears. He's lost all control of the muscles in his body, and it’s useless to struggle.  _Think._ This paralysis could very well be caused by an anxiety attack, but he could feel and sense that this is something else. Whatever it is keeping him pinned down is way more powerful than a physiological response to danger.  
  
Mino follows the golden eyes with his own as they emerge from the shadows. They turn a dark shade of brown when the man comes into full view, the yellow light from the lamp post revealing all six feet of him. Mino thinks he’s swathed in smoke until the man lifts a hand to bring a lit cigarette between his fingers to his mouth.  
  
At a closer glance, he’s not much older than Mino. His lids are lined with kohl, drawing even more attention to his striking eyes that up until a few seconds ago had been bright amber. A silver stud on his nose glistens under the light, and Mino thinks for a moment that the man should be shivering in just a thin white shirt, leather jacket thrown over his shoulder casually. But there's no such discomfort on his self-assured, sharp features. If Mino hadn't known any better, he'd think the man is some model who'd been out clubbing and happened to run into him on the street. But Mino knows right away there's more to this man that meets the eye, especially with an expression that toes the line between interested and amused.  
  
Mino heaves as the man steps closer and stops in front of him, his nerves on edge but still unable to move. The stranger cocks his head to the side as he flicks Mino’s hoodie off, then he appraises him slowly, eyes scanning every inch of Mino’s face with startling intensity, lips pursed in thought. What feels like minutes crawl by, Mino entrapped in his own skin it's becoming too painful to bear.  
  
“Seungyoon,” the man says as if a command, voice neither deep nor shrill, and not a moment later Mino regains control of his body, starting with his fingers that he belatedly realizes are trembling.   
  
Before Mino could react, another figure falls beside the smoking man, maybe younger but aged by the dark circles under his eyes that are stark against his pallid skin. He looks almost haunting under these lights, and clearly he’s the reason for Mino’s temporary immobility.   
  
Mino may not recognize these strangers but he knows exactly what they are. By the looks of it, they’re not the enemy, but they could be dangerous all the same. Unfortunately escaping is no longer an option; Mino isn’t only outnumbered, he’s evidently in over his head.  
  
“What do you want from me?” Mino asks with faux tenacity, but his voice wavers.  
  
“Do you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe?” It’s the one with the eyes. He takes another drag from his cigarette and a wisp of smoke escapes his lips. There’s something oddly hypnotizing about the cadence of his movement and Mino isn’t sure if he’s in some sort of induced trance or the man is just,  _well,_  distracting.  
  
_It’s not a threat,_  Mino decides. The man’s tone is amused, yet not wickedly so – it’s almost playful. Mino keeps his guard up, regardless, and tries not to flinch when the man raises a brow and inches in a tad more, breaching Mino’s personal space. They’re barely separated by a foot now and from this proximity, Mino could smell the smoke on him and something else. _Mint_ _,_  maybe.  
  
“What are you talking about?” Mino puts on his best act out of instinct.  
  
The man looks mildly exasperated as he rolls his eyes. He shares a look with the Seungyoon guy and shakes his head as if he couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.   
  
“A moment ago you lost control of your own body and yet you’re looking at us like we’re just punks about to mug you. You know damn well what I’m talking about.” For a split second the man’s eyes turn a bright gold color again, to which Mino barely reacts, thereby proving the man’s point.  
  
Mino takes a moment to deliberate his next move and figures that if they’re as powerful as he thinks, they’d have done more damage by now had their intention been to hurt him. He relaxes his stance, breathes deeply and pushes out the remaining nerves out of his system.  
  
“How did you-?”  
  
“My friend over here is more perceptive than most,” he throws an arm over Seungyoon’s shoulder playfully before he gives Mino another slow one over that makes the back of his neck heat up in the cold breeze. His gaze drops to the bag Mino holds. “And just between us, a man who looks like he’s escaping the city after the Mandate is a little telling, don’t you think?”  
  
“Then what do you want from me?” Mino shifts his gaze between the two men, still baffled. “If I’m fucked then you both are, too.”  
  
“We  _monsters_  have to stick together,” he replies with a shrug, the emphasis on the crude word igniting a spark of resentment in Mino.  
  
“The politically correct term is  _mutants_.”  
  
“Being politically correct won’t change how they view us.” Another puff, another blow, the man’s cigarette enshrouding them in smoke. There's more than the usual amount but Mino doesn't give it much thought. “We’re an abomination to mankind, no better than the monsters they’ve created in their heads.”  
  
Mino holds his gaze and he thinks he notices something else other than detached self-deprecation in the man’s eyes. It’s not quite anger, which Mino expects from mutants who’ve been wronged by the twisted perception of society. Maybe fear. But who wouldn’t be afraid when the government is rounding mutants up for slaughter just because they couldn’t stand their existence?  
  
“I still don’t know what you want from me. You don’t even know me or _what_ I am.”  
  
“I don’t need to know how useful you’d be to understand that there’s strength in numbers. Come with us and we’ll all feel just a little...  _safer_ ,” he supplies after a pause.  
  
“You said there’s nowhere we can run to where we’ll be safe,” Mino reminds him, and he knows this to be true. Over the years the government has built a massive network, invested in technology and manpower solely for the purpose of hunting down mutants. The Mandate to capture them may have been passed only recently but it was decades in the making. What are the chances three stray mutants can survive that?  
  
“No, I asked you if you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe, which I know you don’t,” he clarifies, a smug smile playing at the side of his mouth. “But we know a place and we’re headed there.”  
  
“The Auxillium,” the man named Seungyoon says without Mino having to ask, as if he’d read his mind.  _Maybe he could._  “I’m not a telepath,” Seungyoon adds without missing a beat.  
  
“Could have fooled me,” Mino replies, trying to wrap his head around this development. Mino had stayed under the radar but kept himself updated about mutant activity in online communities. Even he knew all about the Auxillium – a supposed mutant haven at the mountains of Masan, right at the tip of the Korean peninsula. Mino also knows that its existence is nothing but fiction.   
  
“The Auxillium is a myth. There’s no such thing.”  
  
“It’s real,” Seungyoon counters. “After the NSA started monitoring mutants online years ago, we had to throw them off the Auxillium’s trail and purported that it’s merely a baseless rumor.”  
  
_"_ And you expect me to believe this? Based on what?"

"You don't have to believe it," Seungyoon says, looking ready to leave. "But you want to. What choice do you have?"

"Telepaths," Mino mutters under his breath. "Poking into everyone else's mind must be fun."  
  
Seungyoon’s jaw suddenly tightens, like Mino had hit a nerve. Seungyoon looks like he's about to say something when the other man steps in front of Seungyoon, facing Mino instead. “We’ll have time for questions later. You know we don't have much time. Are you coming with us or not?”  
  
  
  
It’s difficult to ascertain what made Mino say yes to something so ridiculously risky it could cost him his life. It’s complex. Perhaps a combination of desperation and curiosity. If the Auxillium truly exists, then that means the rumours about it could be true as well – how it’s not only a scientific facility to study and advance mutation but is also a weaponized fortress built to protect mutants and prohibit entry to ordinary humans.  
  
And maybe he has better chances against the government if he’s with his kind, and it’s not like his powers are any good when it comes to fights.  
  
Then there’s that part of Mino inexplicably drawn to him. _Seunghoon,_  he’d introduced himself with a hand outstretched and implicit challenge in his cat-like eyes, appraising Mino with open interest and, dare he say, awe. Mino always felt self-conscious in his own skin, having lived at arm's length from most people, so he isn't used to the man's unabashed stares. No one had ever regarded him with anything more than fleeting curiosity, and he had preferred it. Until him. And maybe it’s one of the reasons why Mino couldn’t say no.  
  
“Here,” Seungyoon says, snapping Mino out of his head as he hands him a roll of cash. Mino doesn’t even have the heart to count it and just watches helplessly as a burly man climbs into his second-hand Honda and gives them a nod before driving into the warehouse garage. It had taken Mino two years of boring ass jobs to save up just enough to buy it. And now it’s gone.  
  
“It’s for the best,” Seungyoon deadpans beside him, with suspiciously little empathy. “A hackable car makes it less likely for us to arrive at the Auxillium in one piece.”  
  
“Are you sure you’re not a telepath?”  
  
Seungyoon narrows his eyes before he turns around without another word.  
  
“I suppose you have a vehicle that’s more suitable?” Mino calls behind him.   
  
Mino wishes he hadn’t opened his mouth when an old ash Camry rolls out of the same garage, straight out of a tacky 90’s film. It looks like it wouldn’t last two hours on the road, let alone a few days’ drive. There’s duck tape in place of working hinges that keep the right backdoor from falling off completely and Mino is sure that the cracks in the back window is from a bullet hole. These people must be insane.  
  
“Haute is sturdier than he looks,” Seunghoon says when he slows to a stop a few feet away. He’s grinning from ear to ear and nothing about his appearance indicates that he’s about to run for his life. He looks rather pumped up and Mino isn’t sure what to make of it.  
  
“Haute?” Mino bends down to look at him through the car window.  
  
“The car.”  
  
Mino hasn’t known him a day but he isn’t even surprised Seunghoon would name the thing the exact opposite of what it is.  
  
“We’re not going to make it to Daejeon in this.”  
  
“I think you’re forgetting we have someone who can move things with his mind. I think we’ll be fine,” he retorts with a lopsided smile just as Seungyoon reaches for the car door and settles into the backseat. Seungyoon gives Mino a noncommittal shrug and proceeds to recline at the back, leaving Mino to stare at the passenger seat uneasily.   
  
It’s still preposterous that he’s doing this – associating with people he doesn’t know a thing about other than they’re mutants like himself. These men could be murderers for all he knows.  
  
“I may not look like it, but I’m a good guy. I don't bite or break hearts,” Seunghoon supplies teasingly, reaching out to open the car door for him.  
  
Mino chews down on his bottom lip to keep from smiling. Unlike Seunghoon, he doesn’t think now seems like a very appropriate time for any of _that_. “And here I thought telepathy was a rare mutation.”  
  
“I’m not a telepath either. Just good at people,” Seunghoon lets out a soft chuckle that effectively sets Mino a little more at ease, and then Mino slides inside and hopes he isn’t making a big mistake.  
  
  
  
  
Mino eyes the trees that whip past, a green blur in the rapidly fading sunlight. They’ve been on the road for five hours, choosing the most unconventional route to Daejeon (Seungyoon insisted on it quite aggressively) where they plan on spending the night. The car needs rest, and Mino figures they should take the opportunity to talk. About a lot of things. There’s something about roads and the soft whirr of the car that encourages deep thought and Mino has been swimming in questions since they’ve set off.  
  
Seungyoon still sleeps, waking up only for a sip of water before closing his eyes again. They’ve all been quiet for most of the trip, but Mino is beginning to think Seungyoon’s silence is disconcerting.  
  
It’s not hard to deduce what Seungyoon is. If he isn’t a telepath then he’s a telekinetic, and a trained one. Most telekinetics who haven’t explored their power can’t have full control of it, which Seungyoon has demonstrated, if the way he manipulated Mino on command is any indication.  
  
But Mino could tell he’s deeply troubled. Mino’s power makes him more sensitive to someone’s physical and mental health and something about Seungyoon isn't quite right. He's socially awkward and honest to a fault, which means there must not have been a lot of friends growing up. But Mino didn't, either. Seungyoon has barriers caused by something darker - a traumatic experience, perhaps. Looking at how he retreats into sleep to avoid social interaction _or possibly avoid his own consciousness,_ it's not hard to believe it might be the case.  
  
Seunghoon, on the other hand, is more of a mystery. Mino isn’t sure if Seunghoon’s powers extend beyond eye color manipulation, in which case he could have lived a normal life even with his mutation. But there’s something about him that screams  _radical,_  like he’d been born to fight for a greater cause. Contrary to his cool demeanour, there’s a quiet strength Mino senses in Seunghoon that resembles steady embers that could turn into deadly flames when set off.

Together, Seunghoon and Seungyoon don't make any sense. But if the way they communicate without words is anything to go by (assuming they haven't  been lying about being telepaths), then they must have known each other for a very long time. 

Mino looks to his left in time to catch Seunghoon flit a look towards Seungyoon's sleeping figure from the rear view mirror, his expression still indecipherable. But Mino senses a protectiveness there that leaves him with more curious thoughts for the rest of the drive.

 

They enter a small village in the outskirts of Daejeon when the sun sets completely. It’s barely eight o’clock and yet the town is sluggish, not a soul in sight. It looks like one of those sleepy farming villages with more animals than actual people. They stop in front of a house that doesn’t look like the inn Seunghoon was talking about when they were on the road, not by a long shot, but it’s better than nothing. Seunghoon climbs to the backseat to wake Seungyoon up while Mino alights from the car and stretches his limbs with a yawn. He hasn’t slept properly since last night and badly needs a bed.  
  
“I’ll be right back,” Seunghoon says, tossing the car key to Mino which he fumbles to catch. “If anything happens just take the car and run,” he adds with a cautious smile before disappearing through the door.  
  
“What the hell can happen out here?” Mino jokes as he turns to Seungyoon who’s leaning against the car with hands stuffed inside his pockets, staring up at the night sky. He’s slept throughout the trip but he looks nowhere near rested, or maybe it’s just the perpetual frown etched on his face that’s making him look cranky. For a second Mino wonders if he should just leave him alone and avoid conversation, but Seungyoon looks down and straight at him.  
  
“You really have no idea how much danger we’re in, do you?”  
  
Seungyoon sounds more indifferent than harsh, but it still rubs Mino the wrong way.  
  
“We’ve been running for months,” Seungyoon tells him when Mino doesn’t respond. “We never had the luxury of pretending to live like a normal person. Your whole world may have collapsed on you when the Mandate was passed, but for him and I... everyday is a battle. Who knows where they’re lurking, waiting for us to make a mistake.”  
  
Mino’s hands ball into fists unconsciously. He knows Seungyoon isn't the most sociable of people but it hardly warrants being rude, especially when Mino hasn't done anything wrong. “What are you trying to say?”  
  
“I think you’re a mistake.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“You’re a liability,” Seungyoon says mechanically, without a trace of anger or irritation in his voice. Like he’s merely stating a fact. “You’re more of a human than a mutant, and I’m sure you agree. Your presence here doesn’t have an added value, you’ve already slowed us down.”  
  
Seungyoon is calm, almost robotic as he speaks, but that doesn’t stop Mino’s face from heating up in anger. “I didn’t ask to be here. If you didn’t want me to come then why go through the trouble of convincing me to?”  
  
Seungyoon nods. “You’re right, you didn’t ask to come. If it were up to me, I would have left you behind. No offense, just being pragmatic. But Seunghoon did what any decent mutant would do,  _so to speak._  You were his next target," Seungyoon furrows his brows fleetingly, the first trace of emotion Mino sees, but it quickly disappears before he can make anything of it. "You’ve shut your powers out to live like  _humans._  You wouldn’t have survived if we left you alone.”   
  
_Target?_  Before Mino could ask, Seunghoon emerges from the house, immediately sensing the tension. “We’re all set,” he says distractedly, looking from Mino to Seungyoon. “Something wrong?”  
  
“Nothing,” Seungyoon answers for both of them, already reaching for his duffel bag and striding past Seunghoon to get into the house. Seunghoon turns to Mino with a raised brow.  
  
“What he said,” Mino says, but he knows his expression betrays him. Before he could take a step towards the house, Seunghoon grabs his wrist to stop him.  
  
“I’m sure you’ve already noticed that Seungyoon is...” Seunghoon pauses, searching for words. “ _Difficult._  He hasn't had the best life. If he said anything offensive at all–”  
  
“More like honest,” Mino corrects, sensing that protectiveness coming from Seunghoon again. “Offensive or not, I can respect that.”  
  
“But you sound annoyed.”  
  
“I need to know what’s really going on,” he says gruffly, keeping a pointed stare at Seunghoon. “I know where we’re headed but why am I even here? Why bring me with you? Why is Seungyoon implying that I’m someone’s target?”  
  
Seunghoon holds Mino’s stare for a while before he nods in understanding, gesturing to the house.  
  
“We have time. I’ll tell you everything.”  
  
  
  
As expected they’re the only guests in the inn, and frankly it looks like the old caretaker hasn’t seen a visitor in months when he gawked at the three of them and led them to their room. At least it’s clean, the space wide enough to accommodate them, with mats and beddings folded neatly in one corner of the room. They’ve gathered what food they could find at the kitchen since it’s too late for any of the village stores to be open at this hour and set them on the small foldable table the caretaker had lent them.  
  
Thirty minutes in and Mino is already suffering a slight headache as he tries to keep up with Seunghoon’s story. He wasn’t prepared to hear it, and he doesn’t quite know what to make of everything. The lack of sleep is doing him no favours and he hasn’t touched any of the food either.   
  
Raising fingers to his temples, Mino shuts his eyes. “You’re saying Seungyoon is a top-tier mutant,” he breathes out, fingertips warm, and opens his eyes when the pain begins to subside. He reaches for a bottle of water and drinks a mouthful.   
  
“Yeah. He hasn’t tapped into all of his powers though, but he’s nearly at omega level.”  
  
Mino frowns. “So why do you need me here? Do you even know what I can do?”  
  
Seunghoon seems to be more amused by Mino’s reaction than anything else, something that doesn’t escape Mino. It’s Seunghoon’s default impression somehow, like he’s enjoying making Mino uncomfortable. Seunghoon takes a bite from an apple and shrugs.  
  
“You’re a healer,” Seunghoon answers casually, ignoring the stunned look on Mino’s face. And Mino is beyond stunned. He’s never spoken about his powers to anyone except his mother. “It’s not a common mutation. In fact, you’re the only living healer left in South Korea as far as the record indicates.”  
  
“Record?” Mino exclaims. “I’m in some record? How is that possible?”  
  
“Uhh, well there’s a telepath who can feel mutant energy at a very advanced scale,” Seunghoon starts to say, his expression becoming more guarded at Mino’s question. “He’s a walking masterlist of mutants in existence. He’s also working for the enemy.”  
  
They become quiet as Mino lets that information sink in, at the fact that all their efforts at running away and hiding are practically futile because this telepath could pick them out of a crowd easily.

"He'd have led them to you sooner if you use your abilities more consistently, but you've lived as a human more than anything. That's why they haven't caught up to you yet -there's mutant energy coming off of you but barely, which makes you harder to trace. We were a step ahead this time," Seunghoon explains with another bite. He looks up at Mino and when he sees the confusion, he sets the apple down and sighs. "I know it's a lot to take in. But I'm inclined to believe they want you most of all not because of what you can do but what you represent. Mutants have been slandered as destructive and dangerous. You're the opposite of that, and that's why they want you, and why we can't let them. We need you, Mino." 

Mino shakes his head. "That's not what Seungyoon told me earlier."

"Seungyoon thinks differently, yeah," Seunghoon says, a tad apologetic. "But he has his reasons I don't necessarily agree with, which he also respects. That's why you're with us now. So I hope you don't take that against him."  
  
They both look up when the door creaks open and Seungyoon comes into the room, his gaze instantly directed at Mino. Mino isn’t sure where Seungyoon had been but his breath catches when he sees what the man is holding.   
  
Seungyoon’s expression is unreadable as usual, but he stops by the table and kneels in front of Mino. Just when Mino is about to ask what the hell he’s doing with a knife, Seungyoon tugs at his own sleeve, rolls it up just above his elbow and presses the pointed tip against the skin of his arm.  
  
“Seungy–“ Mino winces when Seungyoon puts pressure on the knife, dark blood oozing out, looking almost black in contrast to his skin, then drags the blade until he makes a cut three inches long. Seungyoon’s face contorts in pain, but he holds out his arm for Mino as soon as he’s done.  
  
Mino just stares at him, dumbfounded. “Are you fucking crazy?”  
  
“You’re a healer,” Seungyoon responds, his voice wavering but still determined. "Heal."  
  
Mino wonders if Seungyoon is truly incapable of emotions or if this is all just a defense mechanism. He certainly isn’t very expressive. He’s fucking bleeding but he’s still got his poker face on.  
  
“You don’t go around cutting yourself just because I can heal you!”  
  
“I’m testing how skilled you are.” The blood continues to drip until there’s an alarming pool of scarlet on the floor that the caretaker would not appreciate. Seungyoon grits his teeth, swallowing down a grunt. “You’re fucking failing.”  
  
Mino is about to protest but he catches sight of Seunghoon just coolly placing his chin on a propped hand, looking very interested. Mino shakes his head in disdain, but he closes his eyes nonetheless and finds his composure. The last time he attempted any form of major healing had been a few months ago – when a woman at a nearby office was rushed to the clinic where he works, excessively bleeding. Mino normally doesn’t intervene with medical procedures so as not to raise suspicions but she wouldn’t have survived had Mino been a second too late at closing her head wound.  
  
Mino lifts a hand over Seungyoon’s bleeding cut, lets his palm hover over it, concentrating on imagining it at a microscopic level. He has to exert some effort to let it flow and as soon as he feels a warm rush in his arm, he opens his eyes. The wound closes up steadily from where Seungyoon had punctured himself, following the direction of Mino’s palm, until not even a trace of a scar could be seen.  
  
“Not bad,” Seunghoon pipes after a while, sounding impressed. “What do you think?”  
  
“A level 3 beta at best,” Seungyoon says, peering down at his arm. He stands up to retrieve a towel from his bag and wipes the residual blood casually, like he didn’t just self-mutilate. “Untrained and sloppy. Maybe if he hadn’t suppressed it he’d be more powerful. But it’s there.”  
  
“Good,” Seunghoon says, flashing Mino a smile that instantly makes him uneasy. Or excited. Or both.  
  
“You haven’t told me what you are.”  
  
Seunghoon’s smile widens by a fraction. “Any guesses?”  
  
“Your eyes,” Mino starts, chewing at the side of his lip. He’s been trying to figure Seunghoon out all day. “They’re like a cat’s. Some kind of cat man?”  
  
Seunghoon lets out a hearty laugh that rings in the room. Mino flushes. Seungyoon rolls his eyes and moves to fix the beddings, either as a way to get out of the conversation or he’s an omega mutant who needs fifteen hours of sleep a day.  
  
“First of all, I’m not a cat. I’m a fucking lion,” Seunghoon jeers, still grinning. “But I’d look good in a leather bodysuit.”  
  
Mino tries to get the image of that out of his mind, looking away when Seunghoon’s eyes turn a deep shade of gold. Seunghoon takes something out of his pocket – a random supermarket receipt – and crumples it.  
  
“Seungyoon, can you help me out?”  
  
Seungyoon grumbles in annoyance from where he’s already lying down, but no sooner does the crumpled piece of paper levitate from the table. Mino already knows Seungyoon is a telekinetic so this comes as no surprise.  
  
What comes as a surprise, however, is the beam of light that shoots from Seunghoon’s eyes making the floating ball burst into flames. In a second, it’s completely obliterated and black ashes fall on the table. Seunghoon takes another bite of his apple, his golden eyes turning darker until they’re back to warm brown. Fire.  _How fitting._  
  
Seunghoon gives Mino a playful wink and this time Mino doesn't hold back a smile.  


  
They set off early morning, with Mino offering to take the wheel. He isn’t familiar with the route they’re taking to Daegu since they’re trying to avoid the main highways, and with the car having no GPS system, Seunghoon had promised to stay awake for as long as Mino is driving so he can help navigate.  
  
In an hour, Seunghoon manages to smoke several cigarettes and tell Mino all about the past few months he and Seungyoon had, details on how Seunghoon helped Seungyoon escape from the agency that kept him captive and how the younger boy owes Seunghoon his life. Seungyoon is in the backseat with eyes closed and arms crossed, giving the impression that he’s asleep, but he’s interjected in Seunghoon’s story a few times already to correct factual errors. Of course.  
  
“What did they do to you there?” Mino asks cautiously, the first time he’s directing a question at Seungyoon. Mino knows it could be a sensitive topic, but maybe it’ll help all of them if he were to understand Seungyoon just a little more.  
  
From the rear view mirror, Mino could see Seungyoon blink slowly until his eyes are wide open, his attention absorbed by the view outside the window. Seunghoon doesn’t say anything and focuses on the road ahead, lighting another stick, giving him and Seungyoon some space to converse.  
  
“Terrible things,” Seungyoon says quietly, keeping his eyes out the window. “Mostly experiments. Felt like an animal. I realized when your limits are tested, you tend to find out your threshold for pain. Physical, psychological, emotional. All of it.”  
  
Mino doesn’t press further, sneaking a glance at Seunghoon who’s become quiet, wearing a shattered expression on his face. Mino can’t begin to imagine what kind of hell Seungyoon had to go through, but he knows quite well how little empathy humans have for their kind to understand everything they’ve done must have been inhumane. Suddenly he no longer wonders why Seungyoon is callous and unfeeling nor why he set barriers to keep people away. Something tells Mino that Seunghoon must be the only one he lets close, and Mino ignores the way that thought makes him grip the steering wheel tighter.

  
By hour two, the awkwardness from their conversation had dissipated and Seunghoon is already singing along to his own playlist from a worn-out looking mp3 player that looks like it should have been phased out a decade ago. When the girl group songs start playing, Seungyoon uses his mind to skip them all – much to Seunghoon’s chagrin – but the guy is relentless and switches them back. It takes only minutes before Seunghoon gives up completely, handing over control of the music to Seungyoon, who Mino finds out has a preference for rock.  
  
It’s lunchtime when they arrive at Daegu, and Seunghoon excitedly insists that they have steamed ribs and tripe while they’re there, dramatically emphasizing that this could very well be their last meal. Mino doesn’t need much convincing, but they had to let Seungyoon cite every single possible thing that could go wrong by going into a very public restaurant before he relents eventually.  
  
“Aren’t we going to pay?” Mino asks, wallet on hand when they finally stand up from their seats to leave. Seunghoon and Seungyoon make no move to ask for the bill.  
  
Seunghoon just laughs and turns to Seungyoon, gesturing for him to explain while he reaches for his glass to take another sip.  
  
“I haven’t paid for anything since I was ten,” Seungyoon tells Mino then walks to the front of the restaurant to talk to the woman at the cash register. With a flip of Seungyoon's wrist, a wallet slips from a man's backpocket - the same man who started ranting about mutant scums when the news came on about another raid - and Seungyoon catches it with a smug glance back at Mino. Mino's jaw drops and tries not to look too tense when Seunghoon stands next to him and throws an arm over his shoulder.  
  
“I love telekinetics,” he says as they watch Seungyoon give the woman a 50% tip.  
  
Mino is suddenly hyper aware of Seunghoon’s nearness but he tilts his head to look at him anyway. It’s been nagging at the back of his head since the beginning of the trip but he never felt comfortable enough to ask until they’ve developed some sort of camaraderie.  
  
“Are you and Seungyoon...” Mino trails off, uncertain how to finish. Perhaps it’s still too impolite. They’ve been travelling less than two days together.  
  
“Are me and Seungyoon what?” Seunghoon raises a brow.  
  
“Never mind.” Mino mentally kicks himself. He shouldn’t be curious about things that don’t concern him and frankly he doesn’t even need to know.  
  
Seunghoon smiles and reaches for the box of cigarettes tucked in his pocket, popping one into his mouth. “Moments like this I wish I  _were_  a telepath,” he says, the stick dangling at the side of his lips before walking away to join Seungyoon.  


  
“So we’re headed for Masan now?” Mino brings up when they head off after a quick trip to the convenience store to replenish their supplies. Seunghoon is behind the wheel again, with Mino in the passenger seat and Seungyoon at the back, already making himself comfortable for sleep.  
  
“Actually, we’re stopping by Busan,” Seunghoon replies quietly, keeping his eyes on the road.  
  
Mino frowns. If their destination is Masan, it doesn’t make any sense to pass through Busan. It’ll only delay them by an hour and Seungyoon had already made it very clear that the sooner they arrive at the Auxillium, the lesser danger they’d be in. And just because they don’t sense any imminent hazard now doesn’t mean they’re out of harm’s way.  
  
“What are we going to do in Busan?”  
  
There’s a long stretch of silence until Seunghoon takes a deep breath. “Just... stuff.”  
  
Mino looks over to the backseat, finding that Seungyoon is looking down at his hands instead of sleeping. His lips are pursed in a way that makes him look more his age, or younger, but Mino knows he’s deep in thought. Mino wonders how many unfathomable levels Seungyoon has in that brain of his, like an endless maze, and if he chooses sleep instead of getting lost in them.   
  
Sensing Mino watching, Seungyoon lifts his chin and returns Mino’s stare. Mino waits for an objection to Seunghoon’s plan but it doesn’t come. Clearly there must be something important in Busan that they’re not telling him.  
  
Mino finds himself growing somewhat annoyed at that, sinking back into his seat instead of prodding further. He knows that Seunghoon and Seungyoon have their secrets but Mino had hoped that after their conversations, they’d finally let him in and not just treat him like a stray they’d picked up on the way. Mino leans to the side to catch some sleep, but not before catching Seunghoon with an uncharacteristically serious expression from the corner of his eyes.  
  
  
  
Mino wakes up to absolute stillness and he nearly leaps from his seat in surprise. His surroundings are unfamiliar and the car is empty – and he feels dread rise to his throat, until he sees a figure from a few meters away approaching him. Mino unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes with the back of his hand before squinting.  
  
It’s Seunghoon. And he’s bringing two cups.  
  
Mino breathes out a sigh of relief as he leans back against the car. For a second there he thought he’d been abandoned.  
  
“You look pale,” Seunghoon remarks with just a shadow of a smile, handing one of the cups to Mino.  
  
“I just-“ Mino pauses, looking over Seunghoon’s shoulder, then around the car. They’re parked at what looks to be a residential area, with a few older adults milling about. “Where’s Seungyoon?”  
  
“He has some things to do. That’s why we’re here.”  
  
Mino scans the surroundings once more, he can’t possibly predict what Seungyoon might need to do here, then again it might have something to do with his family which Mino knows nothing about.  
  
“Is he from Busan?”  
  
“We both are,” Seunghoon replies, taking a sip from his cup. It takes Mino by surprise and once more he’s itching to ask just how deep Seunghoon and Seungyoon’s relationship is. But he doesn’t.  
  
“So we just wait then? Until he’s done with whatever he needs to do?”  
  
Seunghoon nods, walking closer until he falls beside Mino against the car, leaning back in a similar fashion. They both stay quiet for a while, nursing their coffees and just observing the people they see. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary here, or interesting in the least, but Mino is comforted in the silence, with Seunghoon right beside him.  
  
“When did you discover that you were a healer?” Seunghoon asks out of the blue, but with just enough curiosity in the lilt of his voice that means he isn’t just asking for the sake of filling the silence, but is genuinely interested.  
  
“When I was ten years old, my Mom and I got hurt pretty badly,” Mino starts to say, his eyes following the cracks in the pavement, unable to look at Seunghoon. He doesn’t know why he’s nervous but he’s never really told this story to anyone, and recalling it now is bringing him back to where it all started. The fear of being different.  
  
“The driver of the cab we were on was just finishing an 18 hour shift, we didn’t know he was already falling asleep on the wheel until another car crashed against us at an intersection. My Mom was sitting right at the spot where the collision was most severe,” Mino balks at the memory. Beside him he notices Seunghoon shift so he’s looking right at him, but Mino keeps his eyes on the ground.  
  
“All I could see was blood – in her dress, her arms, her hands. I didn’t even notice I was bleeding, too, all I saw was her. The cab driver was already out of the car, and I could sense people starting to freak out outside I was already crying but my Mom was just telling me it’ll be okay even if she was in so much pain. Then I just felt this warm rush inside me, and I didn’t know why I did it but I lifted my hands and just held them up and willed for her pain to go away. I don’t remember much of what happened next because some men were already helping us out of the cab, and next thing I knew we were at the hospital. My Mom was beside me and she looked… fine. Her wounds were gone, like she didn’t even get hurt. Then she pulled me aside and told me we had to leave.”  
  
Mino downs the last of his coffee and glances up to see that Seunghoon is still listening intently. Mino manages a smile before he looks away. “After that my Mom did all the research and helped me figure out what I was.”  
  
“Where is she now?”  
  
Mino sucks in his cheeks as he shakes his head. “The next time she got badly hurt, I wasn’t there. I couldn’t get to her in time.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Yeah,” Mino lets out a dry scoff, still feeling the residual pang of what had happened eight years ago. “The irony of my powers. I couldn’t even heal the only person I cared about.”  
  
There was another quiet pause, until Mino feels a hand enclose his, fingers sliding easily against his palm. Mino’s breath hitches at the contact, but Seunghoon feels warm and comforting, even for someone who was only a stranger a couple of days ago.  
  
Mino has managed to tell him all of his secrets, those that he kept from the world for fear that they wouldn’t understand. It feels liberating to say them out loud, it feels like validation that he exists – the Mino who had an extraordinary gift, and not the scared mutant who hid himself among those he feared.  
  
They stay like that for a while, neither of them saying another word.  
  
“When I was six, I accidentally burned down the dining table,” Seunghoon offers. Mino’s eyes grow wide. Seunghoon doesn’t let go of his hand though, and Mino tries not to think too much about that. “Then it kept happening again and again until my parents had enough, I suppose. I had two sisters, I was dangerous. I didn’t get it then but now I understand why they had to give me up.”  
  
Mino studies Seunghoon’s face, devoid of any real trace of resentment. Mino can imagine how difficult it must have been to grow up without his family.  
  
“For a while I hated myself though,” Seunghoon continues. “But bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, I met other mutants with similar experiences and realized in the long run that it’s not really our fault. So either we let our powers cripple us or we let them be our strength. I chose the latter.”  
  
Mino clears his throat, pulling his hand from Seunghoon’s grip. “And I chose the first.”  
  
“I don’t blame you,” Seunghoon says, looking down at Mino’s hand with something that resembles longing before meeting his eyes. “If the world just accepted us, maybe I’d be someone who has a job, too. But as you see, humans are unforgiving and cruel. You may have neglected your gift before but you can choose to embrace it now.”  
  
Mino gives him a grateful smile. Seunghoon doesn’t have to comfort him, nor does he need to be polite about it, but he makes Mino feel better anyway.  
  
“I have a confession to make,” Seunghoon suddenly brings up. “Meeting you at the alley wasn’t our first encounter. I’ve –  _we’ve_  been following you for a while after we traced you. Needed to make sure you were okay. You know, because we protect our kind.”  
  
Mino shrugs, suppressing another smile. “Yeah I kind of figured that out.”  
  
Seunghoon beams once more before reaching out to hold Mino’s hand again. Mino nearly draws back in surprise, but Seunghoon’s grip is firm. “Just let me. It feels nice,” he declares like it’s the most natural thing to say. Mino swallows down what would have been a bumbling response, keeps his heart steady, and eases into the touch. Seunghoon hums a tune – a girl group song Seungyoon probably hates – and Mino finds himself humming along.  
  
  
  
“Did he say where he was gonna go?”  
  
Seunghoon shakes his head. “Didn’t have to. But I thought he’d be back by now.”  
  
They’d been driving around the Haeundae Beach area where Seungyoon said he’d be for almost half an hour now, but he hasn’t turned up yet.  
  
“Does he have a phone we can call?” Mino suggests, but catches himself. “Oh right. No hackable gadgets,” he mutters mostly to himself as he peers out the window, on the lookout for Seungyoon.   
  
It’s late in the afternoon now and the city is abuzz with activity, as if nothing has changed at all for these people. It’s unsettling.  
  
“I think I know where he is,” Seunghoon says after a few more minutes and Mino just nods, wondering if someone like Seungyoon broke his own rules, too. Mino has pegged him for someone so straitlaced, even with himself. If he isn’t where he said he’s supposed to be, then there must be a good reason for it.  
  
Not even ten minutes later and Seunghoon maneuvers Haute to a stop in front of a commercial building at a considerably bare street, unlike the crowded Haeundae. Mino looks around for any sign of Seungyoon but he’s nowhere to be seen. Seunghoon nudges him and juts his chin towards the direction of a small bakery near the intersection, just visible enough from where they’re parked.  
  
“Seungyoon’s mom,” Seunghoon says as soon as Mino sees the woman inside the shop cleaning the register counter. “Seungyoon comes back every once in a while to check up on her, even send her money anonymously.”  
  
“But where is he?”  
  
“Right there,” he points to the building just across from it, where Mino spots Seungyoon behind a pillar, staring right at the bakery.  
  
“He ran away from home,” Seunghoon answers Mino’s unspoken question. “Thought it would make his mother safer after Seungyoon realized what he was. Unlike our parents, his mom didn’t know anything about his abilities. It was simply easier to leave her out of it.”  
  
Mino purses his lips, feeling a wave of apology towards Seungyoon for thinking all this time that he’s just a jerk. There’s a reason why Seungyoon is the way he is, but it’s nice to know there’s some humanity in the most rigid of mutants Mino has ever encountered.  
  
It breaks Mino’s heart to watch Seungyoon pine after his mother like this, when he could just waltz right into that store and hug her. Mino would do anything to hug his mom again. But he also understands Seungyoon’s need to protect her from their world. She’s better off without Seungyoon, even if that’s a fact hard to swallow.

"This could be the last time he comes back here," Seunghoon says. "After this, everything is going to change."

They leave Seungyoon be for a while, and quietly waits. After a few more minutes, Seungyoon turns to walk towards the car, as if he’d known all along that they followed him there. Mino notices for the first time a guitar case slung over Seungyoon’s shoulder.  
  
“Is that–“ Seunghoon pauses with furrowed brows as soon as Seungyoon enters the car, his eyes on the same guitar case.  
  
“Yeah. It’s the one he left behind.”  
  
“What is?” Mino asks, turning to Seungyoon.  
  
“The guitar. It used to belong to someone I knew. A memory,” Seungyoon answers, setting the case on his lap and regarding it with what Mino can only describe as fondness.  
  
“I didn’t think you were the sentimental type,” Mino remarks, to which Seungyoon smiles a little. Just a barely there twitch of the lips but a smile nonetheless. And it’s pretty spectacular, his features lighting up in the afternoon sun. Mino tries not to be too excited about it just in case it makes Seungyoon uncomfortable.  
  
“This might be the end,” Seungyoon adds after a while, his face returning to its default impassiveness. “After we reach the Auxillium, we could be on an all out war. It’s not practical but it’s nice trying to remember the good things. Fleeting, but good.”  
  
He's echoing Seunghoon's ominous words from earlier but Mino finds himself grinning now at witnessing this side of Seungyoon, and when he looks ahead he realizes Seunghoon is doing the same.   
  
The drive to Masan is an hour that flies by quickly, Mino fidgeting nearly the entire time from both nerves and exhilaration. Who knows what’s going to welcome them at the Auxillium, and Mino is unprepared for this, having been blindsided by this trip. He doesn’t know just yet how to coexist with mutants, and if they do end up fighting a war against the government, then Mino isn’t sure how he can be of use. There are many uncertainties, but if there’s one thing Mino is sure of, he’s excited. Maybe it’s because he found kindred spirits in Seunghoon and Seungyoon. And because he can start his life over.

  
  
Mino should have known everything’s been  _too_  easy. Of course the last obstacle would be right at the cusp of success, just before the finish line. It’s cruel, but such is the life of a mutant.   
  
Seunghoon spots them first – the black vans lined against the backdrop of the mountains. The sky is a rupture of orange and yellow, as if it’s been lit on fire by the setting sun. Mino grips the edges of his seat as Seunghoon rams a foot on the break, the car skidding to a halt a good distance away from them.  
  
Pain rams through Mino’s chest as his body is thrown against the dashboard. But it’s no match for the spike of distress that shoots up his spine when he lifts his head up and sees suited men come out of those vans.  
  
“Is anyone hurt?” Mino asks first, bringing a hand to his chest to chase the pain that persists. It’s gone in seconds.  
  
“I’m okay,” Seunghoon answers, turning towards the backseat to check on Seungyoon. “You alright there?”  
  
“Stay in the car,” Seungyoon says instead, his eyes steady on the windshield. “Remember the plan. If anything happens, run.”  
  
Mino sees the look of alarm on Seunghoon's face when he grips Seungyoon's arm to stop him from getting out. “No, you’re not doing this!”  
  
“I’m the only one who can stop him.”  
  
“Seungyoon. He’s not the same person anymore,” Seunghoon pleads, worry in his voice.  
  
“Who exactly are we dealing with?” Mino asks, trying to make sense of their conversation.  
  
“The telepath,” Seungyoon answers. “The one with the masterlist.”  
  
Even in the middle of danger Mino could detect tenderness in Seungyoon’s usually detached voice, one that is typically reserved for a friend rather than an enemy.  
  
“You know where the entrance is. Make sure you and Mino get there, Jinwoo will be waiting.”  
  
“No.” Seunghoon shakes his head vigorously, his eyes turning a burning gold to match the skies. It’s the first time Mino sees composure leave Seunghoon. “This is not what we talked about!”  
  
Seungyoon reaches for Seunghoon’s shoulder and gives it a steadfast squeeze. “ _Hyung_ , you know I’ve been waiting for this. This is my battle to face.”

Mino could see Seunghoon's face soften and he knows there’s not much Seunghoon could say to that. He nods and they both hold their breaths when Seungyoon gets off the car. From a distance, one of the vans’ doors opens, and a man comes out as well. Mino instantaneously feels the energy emanating from him. There’s no mistaking it.  _This_  is the powerful telepath Seunghoon had told him about.  
  
“Nam Taehyun,” Seunghoon whispers to himself.  
  
The telepath is young,  _too young,_  maybe even younger than all of them. His eyes remind Mino a lot of Seungyoon’s, like they’ve been drained of any type of emotion. Mino feels anger rise to his chest, unsure where it's directed, but he can't fathom why any mutant would ever work for the government to capture their own kind.  
  
“Who is he, exactly?”  
  
“Taehyun and Seungyoon practically grew up in the streets together since they were kids. It didn't take long for them to bond over their powers, but that's also how they were  captured by the government. They went through hell there. I was able to rescue Seungyoon but it was too late for Taehyun,” Seunghoon answers, his face drained of all colour. "It broke Seungyoon to leave him."  
  
Almost instantly, Mino could sense Seungyoon’s own inner force shoot up after walking towards Taehyun. Mino doesn’t know why and how he’s sensing all of this – this is an unexplored part of his ability.  
  
_“Give up.”_

  
The voice is loud and clear in Mino’s head – unfamiliar and abrasive, before an ear-splitting scream rings in his ears. He and Seunghoon both recoil instantly, hands flying up to their heads. A throbbing headache pounds in his skull, more intense than any type of pain he's ever felt. He feels tears pool in his eyes as he screams. Mino concentrates to will it away, but Taehyun’s power is too much for him to handle.  
  
“Fight it!” Mino hears Seunghoon scream through the torture. He, too, has his fingers through his hair,  his eyes in flames.  
  
Mino tries again, summoning all the energy in his muscles, but he could already sense his consciousness falling into a bottomless chasm. He’s never come across this kind of intrusion to his body before, even when Seungyoon froze his limbs the night they met. Mino is powerless against the telepath and it’s futile to resist.  
  
The last thing Mino sees is Seungyoon inching closer towards Taehyun, unfazed by whatever it is he’s doing to them. In his hands is the guitar he’d gotten when they were in Busan.   
  
_It’s a memory,_  Seungyoon’s words replay in Mino’s head, bizarrely sounding like the telepath’s voice.   
  
A second later, Mino sees, hears, feels nothing.  


 

  
  
The story changes a lot. It’s hard to keep up when you have about a hundred mutants telling and retelling the story over and over, tweaking details here and there to make it more interesting. Less frightening. A cautionary tale. A love story. Mino doesn’t bother to correct them anymore and just lets them believe what they want to believe.  
  
Perhaps he and Seunghoon are the two people closest to the truth, and even then that’s not saying much.

Mino doesn't remember what happened after he lost consciousness, he only recalls waking up to fluorescent lights - a lot like the ones in operating rooms and a man with a kind face looking over at him with a smile. He told Mino he'd been asleep for four days and that he was out of danger now, that his brain took quite a beating but he's healing. His name is Dr. Kim Jinwoo and now that he's at the Auxillium, he's finally safe. Mino had leapt from the cot, frantically looking for the faces he would rather see but he was alone in the room. That was until the door opened and a figure stepped inside sporting a snide smirk, wearing the exact same lab clothes as Mino.

Mino didn't hesitate to dash towards Seunghoon, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug. Seunghoon had hugged him back with all the might he could muster.

Seunghoon couldn't remember how they ended up at the Auxillium either, and all Jinwoo could tell them was that their unconscious bodies had been right outside their gates when they'd finally found them.  
  
One thing is for sure though – what happened at Masan that afternoon stalled the imminent war, giving them time to locate the mutants who haven’t been captured yet. Most of them aren’t soldiers, and like Mino, they’d been forced to conceal their gifts in order to blend in with the rest of humanity. But under the tutelage of the alpha mutants at the Auxillium, they can be greater.  
  
A month in and Mino has already begun to tap into an untouched ability that allows his power to be destructive. If he can heal, he can also destroy, in the sense that if he can accelerate cell regeneration to close a wound, he can also make bones grow out of someone’s body, manipulate blood, and the like. It’s morbid but he’s been told it’s necessary.   
  
However, if Mino is being honest, he’s content to heal injured mutants in the war.   
  
Mino shuts his eyes and breathes in the fresh air, it’s still so mesmerizing up here. It’s like being in a different planet altogether.  
  
“I heard the craziest theory today,” a voice says from behind him and Mino turns around to find Seunghoon in his training gear, perhaps just coming out of the gym. He’s still wearing the special sunglasses the lab created to enhance his fire beams, but Seunghoon removes it as soon as he sits next to Mino. “Always pretty at sunset,” he remarks, looking up at the fire-like sky.  
  
Mino has developed the habit of coming up the observatory at around this time. Nostalgia, he supposes. He can appreciate the peace up here. The silence. But if there’s one person who’s always welcome to join him, it’s Seunghoon.  
  
“Tell me about this theory,” he nudges Seunghoon’s elbow, smiling.  
  
“Amber thinks that Seungyoon and Taehyun’s powers colliding elevated them beyond omega levels,” Seunghoon recounts, with just a twinge of incredulity in his tone. “And the concentrated power created a wormhole so now she’s convinced they’re in another universe entirely.”  
  
Mino snorts. “Well that’s creative.”  
  
“Best one I heard in a while, actually,” Seunghoon chuckles, fading into silence after a while.  
  
It took a few days to get used to it but they’ve settled into life at the Auxillium. It’s hectic and unusual, but it’s becoming home. And if Mino’s being honest the best part about it is Seunghoon. Mino has lived a lonely life all this time. It feels good to have someone who has his back and fully accepts him for who he is. As long as he’s with Seunghoon then even the worst things don’t seem so bad.  
  
“Wanna hear a crazier theory?” Mino asks.  
  
Seunghoon turns to him, a hint of mischief in the crinkle of his eyes.  
  
“I think Seungyoon and Taehyun just… ran away. Left all of this madness to build a house on the beach. They’re two of the most powerful mutants alive. Whether or not they’re in this war, they’re gonna survive anyway, so why not live a little?”  
  
Seunghoon tilts his head as he considers this. “Not a bad theory. Seungyoon would go for it in a heartbeat if Taehyun asks.”  
  
Mino smiles, imagining Seungyoon and Taehyun in their teens, finding solace in each other before being viciously torn apart by the corrupt institutions who only wanted to exploit them. “If they really are alive and they are together, I hope no one ever finds them.”  
  
“Yeah,” Seunghoon hums.   
  
In the silence, Mino reaches for Seunghoon’s hand and laces their fingers together. At the invitation, Seunghoon scoots closer and places a kiss at the back of Mino’s palm, languidly dropping his head on Mino's shoulder. They draw comfort in the beauty and warmth of the remaining rays of the sun before darkness is bound to take over.  
  
And in that instance, as if time had stilled, the entire world seemingly at his fingertips, Mino breathes Seunghoon in. And he finds that he could welcome even a looming war, if only to have, and truly savor moments like this.

  
_the entire earth is fighting  
all the world is at its end  
just in case an atom bomb  
comes falling on my lawn,  
I should say and you should hear  
I’ve loved  
I’ve loved the good times here_

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title and verses are from Fred Ocean's Strawberry Swing.


End file.
